Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.

One thought on “Link: Kim’s Convenience and Canadian television’s diversity problem”

I’m kind of leaning to disagree with this article. I think there have been several shows with diversity on “mainstream” TV. The title of this article was obviously meant to exclude Blood & Water, an Omni show, and APTN shows like Blackstone, Rabbit Fall, Mixed Blessings, Renegadepress, Mohawk Girls, etc. So if we exclude shows as non-mainstream because of the channels they’re on (here’s me shaking my head and rolling my eyes) let’s address the writer’s comment that shows like North of 60 (a long-running show that spanned several seasons and tv movies) and Strange Empire were rare glimpses. What about the diversity of shows like Degrassi, Da Kink in My Hair, Drop the Beat, Rookie Blue, Arctic Air, Book of Negroes, Edgmont, Four in the Morning, etcetera? Honestly, am my wrong thinking there’s not a lack of diversity in Canadian tv? I will say that certain populations, certainly people of Asian descent, are lacking in representation on Canadian TV but its a good sign that shows like Blood & Water, Kim’s Convenience and Second Jen are being made currently. I do think the South Asian population , which makes up 4.8% of Canada’s population and one-quarter of Canada’s visible minorities, is underrepresented. However, if you look at Canada’s population, 80% of the country is Caucasian so we shouldn’t be surprised or disappointed that so many of the people we see on Canadian TV reflect that. I think in terms of diversity, Canada has done a good job in TV.